Last week around 100 university students from 15 countries visited a number of energy facilities in Portugal as part of an initiative entitled New Energy World, promoted by the Ministry of Economy and Innovation.

One of the visits was to the world’s largest photovoltaic installation in Moura, Beja, at which the Prime Minister, José Sócrates, was also present. Sócrates declared that the investment in renewable energy made by the government in the last four years had placed Portugal in “the front line of the countries which want a green revolution, in favour of the environment and also to our economy and employment.”

The students from China, Japan, Venezuela, Brazil, Poland, Morocco, Algeria, Angola, Tunisia, Russia, India, the Czech Republic, the US and the UK spent four days in various parts of the country, also visiting other facilities such as the aero-generator factory in Viana do Castelo, the Alto Lindoso Dam and a number of wind farms, including Europe’s largest, and taking a river trip up the Douro.

When questioned about the costs of such a programme, the Economy Minister, Manuel Pinho, countered by saying: “When you have been invited as a guest the first question one should not ask is what is the cost,” adding that “the cost of this initiative has been met by many companies which are interested in promoting these projects.”